


1A  An impossible passing with no beginning, now it's finished.  (9)

by Lieju



Category: Gaston (Bande Dessinée), Inspector Morse (TV)
Genre: Crossword Puzzles, Gen, crossover that needed to exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:26:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8013883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspector Morse Visits the Spirou editorial office.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1A  An impossible passing with no beginning, now it's finished.  (9)

 

It wasn't exactly Inspector Morse's jurisdiction, but he had happened to pass by the _Spirou_ editorial offices when a murder had been reported, so naturally he had gotten involved.

 

However, it didn't take long for the supposed murder victim, one Mr Lagaffe, to show up on the scene alive and well.

And after that it became obvious they were not dealing with murder, and that the spectacled man had been merely disposing off an astonishingly life-like rubber doll.

 

So Morse offered his hand to him. "I must apologize, Mister-"

 

He shook his hand. "Prunelle."

 

Morse stopped. Could it be? That _was_ a rare last name...

 

" _That_ Prunelle?  Léon Prunelle?"

 

Prunelle glanced warily at the inspector. " _ That _ Prunelle? My first name  _ is  _ Léon, although I'm not sure how you-"

 

"You're the same Prunelle who used to make the weekly cryptic crossword for  _ the Moustique?" _

 

He seemed surprised. "Yes."

 

"The only reason I got the magazine every single week," Morse told him, suddenly wondering about his suspicious reaction. Well, it wasn't uncommon for completely innocent men to suddenly act guilty when police showed interest in them.

 

Prunelle must have noticed the suspicious look the inspector gave him, since he hurried to explain: "I just- well, let's say this is not the first time I have gotten in trouble with the law because of a mix up. And because of Lagaffe." He smiled. "I never expected you to be talking about that. It's a surprise anyone even notices the names of the people making those things."

 

"I do," Morse assured him. "I always greatly enjoyed your skillful word-play and references to classical music."

 

"You were probably the only one. The managing editor told me to tone them down, said it didn't fit the overall tone of the magazine. Was right, probably. They stopped publishing crosswords altogether."

 

"And they lost at least one reader because of it," Morse told him. "You haven't stopped working on them, have you?"

 

"I am busy with my work here. I still enjoy making them, just, you know, would be nice if someone paid me to do it. Although I occasionally make the crossword for the  _ Spirou _ magazine."

 

"You do?"

 

"Oh, you wouldn't be interested. It's a children's magazine."

 

However, Morse's curiosity had been piqued. "I'd love to see it."

It was really a shame someone like Mr Prunelle would be wasting his talents on children's crosswords.

And when he looked at the puzzle handed to him, it was obvious how simple it was.

 

He could solve it on a glance, apart from a clue or two, which he supposed required specialized knowledge, but even they could be solved from figuring out the other ones and-

 

Morse stopped, the genius of the work becoming apparent.

 

It was laughably easy, yes, but it was  _ supposed _ to be. It was made for children.

 

And even still he could spot the style of one of his favourite crossword writers in it.

How the clues fit together, some surprisingly difficult or misleading ones slipped in that might confuse you at first, but could be solved by taking a methodical approach and looking at the other clues first...

 

"Never stop making these," Morse told him.

 

"What?"

 

Morse looked him in the eye.

"These might be made for kids, but it's still obvious they were made by a professional. Someone who cares about his work."

 

Prunelle seemed to be speechless. "Thanks."

He stopped to think. "Wait here."

 

He returned soon with a bundle of papers and handed it to the inspector. "Here, some of my crossword puzzles aimed to a slightly older audience. Ones that you haven't seen."

 

"You still make them, then?"

 

Prunelle shrugged. "That's mostly stuff I made for  _ the Moustique _ that was never published for one reason or another, such as 'not being in line with the tone of the magazine' or 'too difficult'" 

He smiled. "I doubt you'll have that problem."

 

"I couldn't-"

 

"Go on, I have copies. And it's nice to know someone appreciates those. Maybe I will try to offer them for publication."

 

"You should."

 

Morse reached for a handshake. "But even if you don't, keep making them for kids. God knows they need all the quality entertainment they can get these days."

 

Prunelle shook his hand. "Thanks again, really. I shall endeavour to make at least the puzzle corner of our magazine a high-quality one, then."

 

“A worthy cause, I'm sure.”

 


End file.
